What are my options for a BL engine replacement

[eddiewould]

So - despite having my car religiously serviced every 6 months (my car does only about 8,000km a year) the big end bearing has failed and so I effectively need a new engine.

The car is a MY04 BL5 Legacy GT Spec. B (manual). The car is tidy and fully optioned (full leather, HIDs, seat heaters, Bilsteins) and has 140,000km on it. It's also got some very nice near-new Michelin rubber on it. I could be wrong but even if I decide to sell the car, I think it would be in my interest to get it going again prior to selling.

What are my options for engine replacement (within a sane budget - I know this isn't going to be cheap but want to keep costs reasonable)?

Can I take an engine from

- A later version of the same chassis (i.e. facelift)?

- An automatic BL5 (my is manual)?

- A wagon (BP5) - mine is the sedan (BL5)?

- A WRX?

Cheers,

Eddie

[Dairusire]

 eddiewould said:

So - despite having my car religiously serviced every 6 months (my car does only about 8,000km a year) the big end bearing has failed and so I effectively need a new engine.

The car is a MY04 BL5 Legacy GT Spec. B (manual). The car is tidy and fully optioned (full leather, HIDs, seat heaters, Bilsteins) and has 140,000km on it. It's also got some very nice near-new Michelin rubber on it. I could be wrong but even if I decide to sell the car, I think it would be in my interest to get it going again prior to selling.

What are my options for engine replacement (within a sane budget - I know this isn't going to be cheap but want to keep costs reasonable)?

Can I take an engine from

- A later version of the same chassis (i.e. facelift)?

- An automatic BL5 (my is manual)?

- A wagon (BP5) - mine is the sedan (BL5)?

- A WRX?

Cheers,

Eddie

Invisible had a big end go on his BP recently and replaced the short block with a v7 STi EJ207. You could do the same. Alternatively, if the bottom end isn't too bad you could have it rebuilt, but regardless even if you're doing the work yourself, you'll end up with a fairly sizable bill.

[Percy]

I got a replacement for my 2000 GT-B engine for $1500 from an importer, came with a 3 month guarantee, someone up in your area may have something to suit your car.

I did fit the engine myself, so no idea how much that would cost to get done!

[Invisible]

 Dairusire said:

Invisible had a big end go on his BP recently and replaced the short block with a v7 STi EJ207. You could do the same. Alternatively, if the bottom end isn't too bad you could have it rebuilt, but regardless even if you're doing the work yourself, you'll end up with a fairly sizable bill.

So I had this dilemma not that long ago, and it really depends on your budget etc.

I had three options priced up as I kinda of knew what I wanted.

Option 1 - Rebuild current motor (depends on the level of damage)

Option 2 - Was buy new/second hand ej207 shortblock and use current heads (again depending on damage)

Option 3 - Buy new/second had ej257 short block

I was originally going to just have mine rebuilt but there was too much damage for this to be a realistic option, so I ended up going with a ej207 short block and I am so much happier for it

But it really depends on what your after, power? reliability? just getting it back on the road?

Also pays to a

[eddiewould]

 Invisible said:

So I had this dilemma not that long ago, and it really depends on your budget etc.

I had three options priced up as I kinda of knew what I wanted.

Option 1 - Rebuild current motor (depends on the level of damage)

Option 2 - Was buy new/second hand ej207 shortblock and use current heads (again depending on damage)

Option 3 - Buy new/second had ej257 short block

I was originally going to just have mine rebuilt but there was too much damage for this to be a realistic option, so I ended up going with a ej207 short block and I am so much happier for it

But it really depends on what your after, power? reliability? just getting it back on the road?

Also pays to a

Thanks very much - very helpful!

What did you pay for the EJ207 short-block & when? Where did you get it from, any idea on how many K's it had on it? Did you do the work yourself? I will be getting my mechanic to do the work (not mechanically inclined myself) but just trying to get a feel for how straightforward the EJ207 short-block + EJ20T head Frankenstein would be for them.

[Dairusire]

 eddiewould said:

Thanks very much - very helpful!

What did you pay for the EJ207 short-block & when? Where did you get it from, any idea on how many K's it had on it? Did you do the work yourself? I will be getting my mechanic to do the work (not mechanically inclined myself) but just trying to get a feel for how straightforward the EJ207 short-block + EJ20T head Frankenstein would be for them.

He got a new EJ207 short block. Factory new. afaik, the price for one of those is 2.8k +gst from winger.

He had the work done by SubiRex Automotive here in auckland who is a club member as well.

As far as it goes with physically putting the block together, it shouldn't be any harder than reassembling the block as what you normally would. Just use the right gaskets.

[eddiewould]

Ouch, after looking at the quotes I might end up sending the car to a wrecking yard after-all

[Dairusire]

 eddiewould said:

Ouch, after looking at the quotes I might end up sending the car to a wrecking yard after-all

Is it a 6 speed or 5 speed?

[eddiewould]

 Dairusire said:

Is it a 6 speed or 5 speed?

Just a 5-speed unfortunately.

[Guest]

Could always just grab a longblock from a similar model and throw it in. See them pop up on facebook on the subaru pages for around the 1k mark obviously with an element of risk. Try gerald at subaruspeed tell him clint from clubsub sent you. There stuff comes with a warranty and isnt priced tooo bad usually.

Hate to see it wrecked when it seems like youve looked after it.

[eddiewould]

Well if anyone is interested I found out why the big-end gave out - the pressure-release valve on the oil pump had gunk in it and had stuck in the "open" position meaning oil was going straight into the sump (insufficient oil pressure) rather than where it should be going. A bit disappointed I didn't get a CEL for that. I guess I know why people buy fancy gauges now.

I've ended up replacing the engine with one from a wrecker with ~80,000km on it (allegedly). Using my cambelt/tensioners/water pump etc since they were replaced only 40,000km ago. Fingers crossed!